The capabilities of a simple surfboard are greatly increased when the basic components of a sailboat—sail, hull, daggerboard, and fin—are added. Windsurfing dates to the 1930s, when surfer Tom Blake experimented with putting a mast on a surfboard. The idea resurfaced in 1965 when Newton Darby designed a universal joint to connect a mast to a floating platform he called a sailboard.

The windsurfer owes much of its popularity to its suitability for all skill levels and its relatively low cost.